Electrician&#39;s fish tape puller



Feb 7, 1967 o. J. DANIELSON ETAL 3,302,929

ELECTRICIAN'S FISH TAPE FULLER Filed June 21, 1965 u Haw) us q" &

3q 38 37 36 INVENTORS QLIVER J DANIELSON B CLAUD E. W\LCOX United States Patent 3,302,929 ELECTRHCIANS FISH TAPE FULLER Oliver J. Danielson, 3950 St. Marys, Martinez, Calif. 94553, and (Ilaud E. Wilcox, 13.0. Box 545, Gresham, ()reg. 97030 Filed June 21, 1965, Ser. No. 465,531

7 Claims. (Cl. 254-1343) This invent-ion relates to a fish ta-pe puller for pulling wires through walls and conduits in the installation of wiring in buildings.

In order to get electric wiring into such passages, it is customary to first thread an electricians fish tape through the passage and then retrieve the leading end of the fish tape at the end of the conduit or some accessible opening in the wall .as the case may be. The wires to be installed are attached to the trailing end of the fish tape and then the leading end is pulled through, drawing the wires behind. A strong pull is often necessary, requiring the workman to grasp a relatively small flat tape or wire with his hands. In order to facilitate a secure grasp on the fish tape and exert a strong .pull without damaging the fish tape and injuring the workmans hands, some kind of gripping device providing a better hand hold than an ordinary pair of pliers is desirable.

Objects of the invention are, therefore, to provide a convenient tool for pulling a fish tape, to provide a device of the type described capable of exerting a strong grip on either flat or round fish tapes of different sizes, to provide a device of the type described with a pair of handles so that a workman can pull with both hands and to provide a device of the type described having a simple and inexpensive form of construction which is rugged and reliable in operation and will not damage the fish tape.

The present device has a stationary jaw and a movable jaw with a special configuration to receive a flat tape or two different sizes of wire with equal facility. The fixed jaw is connected with a handle arranged to extend on one side of the tape while the movable jaw is actuated by a toggle link from a second handle on the op posite side of the tape. This arrangement permits a workman to exert a straight line pull on the tape without kinking or bending or otherwise damaging the tape. The harder the workman pulls the more securely the tape is gripped so that it cannot slip through the jaws. The device is thereby capable of applying all the tension to the tape that a man can exert on the two handles. This permits a workman to pull wires through a tortuous passage that could not be negotiated by pulling with his hands alone or even with an ordinary pair of pliers.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment illustrated on the accompanying drawing. Various changes may be made, however, in the details of con struction and arrangement of parts and certain features may be used without others. All such modifications with-in the scope of the appended claims are included in the invention.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view with parts in section, showing a device embodying the principles of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view with parts in section;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary enlarged bottom plan view; and

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 2, showing a different adjustment of certain parts.

The device comprises, generally, a fixed jaw 10, a

3,3d2f929 Patented Feb. 7, 1967 movable jaw 11, a handle 12 rigidly connected with the fixed jaw and a movable handle 13 for actuating the movable jaw. For adjustment purposes, the fixed jaw 10 is secured to handle socket 14 by screws 15. The jaw member is backed up in adjusted position by setscrews 16 in the socket member.

Movable jaw 11 is provided with bores 20 which permit the jaw to slide on pins 21 in a frame member 22 which is integral with socket member 14. Handle 13 is pivotally mounted on a pin 25 in frame 22. A toggle link 26 is pivotally connected at one end to a pin 27 in handle 13 at a distance from the pin 25. The other end of the toggle link is pivotally connected to a pin 28 in jaw 11. The pins 25, 27 and 28 are transverse to the direction of the tape and also transverse to the general direction of handles 12 and 13.

The arrangement is such that when handle 13 is moved forward the movable jaw 11 is retracted away from fixed jaw 10 and when handle 13 is pulled back togglev link 26 forces the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw to clamp the tape. The clamped position of the handle, of course, depends upon the thickness of the tape and so the setscrews 16 are preferably adjusted so that the toggle pin 27 will not swing forward to an over center position beyond an imaginary line connecting the centers of the two pins 25 and 28 when the tape is between the jaws. The setscrews may be adjusted to permit a slight over center position if automatic toggle locking action is desired but ordinarily it is not desired to have the device lock itself automatically on the tape. The handle moves farther back to its 1321 position when there is no tape between the jaws.

The usual mode of operation is to draw the tape about a foot or two with one pull and then slide the device forward along the tape and get another grip for another pull of similar distance. For this mode of operation it is desirable to have the movable jaw release its grip on the tape as soon as the workman stops pulling on the handles. This permits a steady back and forth movement of the hands along the tape as in stroking the oars of a boat. The transverse position of the handles allows one man to grip both handles conveniently in his two hands or, in a difi'icult pulling operation, one man may grip the handle 12 with both hands and his helper may grip handle 13 with both hands to double the tractive effort.

It will be observed that the opening between the jaws is closed on its under side by the frame 22 to prevent accidental disengagement from the tape, the jaws being open on the top side to permit insertion of the tape laterally so that the end of the tape does not have to be threaded through the jaw opening. FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 illustratethe action of a latch device to provide the same convenience for round wires. The confronting surfaces of the jaws are provided with a first pair of shallow registering grooves 36 to fit a small round wire and a second pair of deeper registering grooves 31 to fit a larger round wire. Provision is made for allowing the jaws to open wide enough to receive such wires laterally so that they will not have to be threaded lengthwise through the grooves 30 or 31 and means is provided to restrict the jaw movement and retain the wire in the jaws during a pulling operation.

For this purpose the lower end of pin 28 in FIGURES 2 and 4 is provided with a reduced. neck portion 35' and an enlarged head 36. This head end of the pin is normally retained in a slot 37 in an arm 38 which is pivotally mounted at 39 on frame 22. Arm 38 extends beyond' this pin to provide a thumb lever 40 projecting toward the handle 12. The end of arm 38 containing e,co2,92s

oi the slot 37 is normally biased toward the frame 22 by a compression spring 41 engaging thumb lever 40.

Thus, by squeezing thumb lever 40, the handle 13 may be moved farther to its 13a position in FIGURE 1 to open the jaws more widely as shown in FIGURE 4 and admit the wire W laterally into grooves 30 or 31. Then when handle 13 is pulled back to clamp the wire and thumb lever 40 is released, head 36 is contained in slot 37. This prevents jaw 11 from opening wide enough to accidentally release the wire laterally from its clamping grooves 30 or 31 during the pulling strokes. This facilitates the rowing action of pulling the wire since it is thereby retained between the jaws. By simply squeezing the thumb lever 40, pin 28 may be released to allow the jaw 11 to disengage the wire. This feature is of great convenience in working with round fish tapes.

Having now described our invention and in what manner the same may be used, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A fish tape puller comprising a frame member, a handle fixedly mounted on one side of said frame member, a handle pivotally mounted on the opposite side of said frame member, an elongated jaw fixedly mounted in said one side of said frame member and having a longitudinally flat tape clamping surface facing said opposite side of said frame member, an elongated movable jaw having a longitudinally flat tape clamping surface confronting said first surface in parallel relation thereto, guide means supporting said movable jaw for sliding movement in said frame toward and away from said fixed jaw, and a toggle link pivotally connected between said pivotal handle and said movable jaw for opening and closing said movable jaw, said frame being open on one side of said jaws sufiiciently to admit and release the tape laterally into and out of said jaws.

2. A fish tape puller comprising a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, a transverse handle on said fixed jaw, a frame member connected with said fixed jaw, a transverse handle pivotally mounted on said frame member, a toggle link interconnecting said second handle and movable jaw for opening and closing said movable jaw, a pair of parallel bores in said movable jaw, and pins on said frame member extending into said bores to support said movable jaw for sliding movement toward and away from said fixed jaw.

3. A fish tape puller comprising a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, a transverse handle on said fixed jaw, a frame member connected with said fixed jaw, a transverse handle pivotally mounted on said frame member, a toggle link interconnecting said second handle and movable jaw for opening and closing said movable jaw, registering grooves in said jaws to grip a wire, means to limit the opening movement of said movable jaw to retain a wire in said grooves, and means to release said limit means for inserting and withdrawing the wire laterally from between said jaws.

4. A device as defined in claim 3, said limit means comprising a pin in said movable jaw and a spring arm on said frame member having a slot to receive said pin, said release means comprising a thumb lever arranged to move said arm away from said pin.

5. A fish tape puller comprising a frame member, a fixed jaw on said frame member, a transverse handle fixedly mounted on said frame member, a pair of parallel pins on said frame member, a movable jaw mounted for sliding movement on said pins, a transverse handle pivotally mounted on said frame member, and a toggle link interconnecting said second handle and movable jaw.

6. A fish tape puller comprising a frame member, a fixed jaw on said frame member, a transverse handle fixedly mounted on said frame member, a pair of parallel pins on said frame member, a movable jaw mounted for sliding movement on said pins, a transverse handle pivotally mounted on said frame member, a toggle link interconnecting said second handle and movable jaw, a pin in said movable jaw, a spring arm having a slot to receive said pin, and a thumb lever on said arm adjacent said fixed handle arranged to disengage said slot from said pin.

7. A fish tape puller comprising a frame member, screws in said frame member, a fixed jaw mounted on said screws, setscrews in said frame member for adjusting the position of said jaw, a transverse handle fixedly mounted on said frame member, a pair of parallel pins on said frame member, a movable jaw mounted for sliding movement on said pins, a transverse handle pivotally mounted on said frame member, a toggle link interconnecting said second handle and movable jaw, a pin in said movable jaw, a spring arm having a slot to receive said pin, and a thumb lever on said arm adjacent said fixed handle arranged to disengage said slot from said pin.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 326,380 9/1885 Ball 1 24249 1,277,906 9/ 1918 Gilborne 24--249 2,634,157 4/1953 Haddock 24-249 X 2,821,767 2/1958 Payne 24-249 FOREIGN PATENTS 789,052 8/1935 France.

107,547 11/1924 Switzerland.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

OTH'ELLO M. SIMPSON, Examiner. 

2. A FISH TAPE PULLER COMPRISING A FIXED JAW AND A MOVABLE JAW, A TRANSVERSE HANDLE ON SAID FIXED JAW, A FRAME MEMBER CONNECTED WITH SAID FIXED JAW, A TRANSVERSE HANDLE PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME MEMBER, A TOGGLE LINK INTERCONNECTING SAID SECOND HANDLE AND MOVABLE JAW FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID MOVABLE JAW, A PAIR OF PARALLEL BORES IN SAID MOVABLE JAW, AND PINS ON SAID FRAME MEMBER EXTENDING INTO SAID BORES TO SUPPORT SAID MOVABLE JAW FOR SLIDING MOVEMENT TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID FIXED JAW. 